Unloading apron



UNLOADING APRON Filed Sept. 29, 1960 371- //vv/ v7'aR. s E by 77m. H. PEEL gal WW WK jg r firm/ways Patented Jan. 1, 1963 3,070,985 UNLOADING APRON Earl H. Peel, Groesbeck, Cincinnati, Ohio, assignor t McGraw-Edison Company, Elgin, Ill., a corporation of Delaware Filed Sept. 29, 1960, Ser. No. 59,443 2 Claims. (Cl. 68139) The invention relates generally to commercial laundry washing or cleaning equipment of the type wherein an inner, generally cylindrical receptacle or drum is rotatable on a horizontal cylindrical axis within an outer fixed housing or tub. For the purposes of the following description of one embodiment of the invention the parts characterized above will be referred to, respectively, as a drum and a tub. The arrangement is familiar to those skilled in the art.

The tub is usually provided with a laterally extending door opening on its front wall, at a convenient height for an operator in loading and unloading. The drum is likewise provided with two or more 'doors, one each for respective drum compartments, the drum doors being alignable in turn with the tub door. There is of course operating clearance between the drum and the tub, and therefore when the tub and drum doors are aligned in loading or unloading position there is an intermediate space into which garments might fall if no means is provided to guard against it.

Aprons for unloading and loading ha-ve heretofore been in use with side-door washers for bridging the aforesaid space between the outer stationary tub and the inner rotatable drum when the doors are aligned. The apron also provides a smooth surface across which the laundry pieces may be moved. These aprons as previously used have been some form of flap or plate hinged to the tub adjacent to the bottom edge of the tub door opening. Most washers have the tub door situated with the lower edge somewhere near the central horizontal plane of the machine, and a conventional hinged apron is entirely satisfactory.

In the case of side-loading washers of the so-called low door type, the bottom edge of the outer tub door opening is some distance below the central horizontal plane, and the rotatable drum is ordinarily of the type having either a single horizontal partition or a Y pocket design. In either case, each pocket is provided with a door, the lower edge of which coincides with a partition. With one of the doors open in unloading position, therefore, one of the partitions forms the floor of the pocket and preferably slopes downward toward the opening. This facilitates unloading, and, in fact, some of the load will usually begin tumbling out when the drum door is opened.

It is apparent that the unloading apron should be in position before the drum door is opened; but this preliminary positioning of the apron cannot be achieved with one commonly used washer in which the apron is a simple hinged type. The heavy, top-hinged drum door has a reinforcing channel along the bottom on the outside, as will hereinafter appear, and this projecting obstruction prevents the ordinary hinged apron from being swung into position beneath it. Consequently, it has been necessary to first start opening the door and immediately try to swing the apron into position before the load begins to fall out, but this is not easy to do. It might be thought that the apron could have been positioned while the drum door was some distance above its unloading position, and the drum then inched down. This is not practical because the inching 0f the drum must be done very slowly and carefully or the apron is hit and damaged.

An object of the present invention, therefore, is to provide an apron with a type mounting so that it can be manipulated through the narrow space between the tub and the door-reinforcing member, and then correctly positioned beneath the latter, bridging the gap preliminary to opening of the drum door.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from a study of the following description of an embodiment of the invention, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in -which FIGURE 1 is a transverse vertical section through an area of the tub 10 and drum 11 at the lower part of the door openings, with the apron 12 hanging in idle position. FIGURE 2 shows the apron swung up and around at an intermediate position. FIGURE 3 shows the apron in final position. FIGURE 4 is a partial front elevation of the apron device as positioned in FIGURE 3; and FIG- URE 5 is a fragmentary front elevation of the apron when in the idle position of FIGURE 1.

Since washers of the type referred to herein are well known in the :art it will be unnecessary to show a complete machine. The relationship of the fixed and movable parts will be fully understandable, having reference to FIGS. 1 to 5 and to the following description. For a showing of one exemplification of this type of washer reference may be had to my co-pending application, Serial No. 861,677, filed December 23, 1959, for Door Closure and Operating Means.

In FIGURE 1, the tub door 13 (broken line) has been opened and the drum '11 inched around to bring one of its doors 14 into the position shown, the partition 15 sloping downward. As mentioned, this may be a single diametral partition or one of the three radial partitions of a socalled Y pocket drum. An angle member 16 reinforces the juncture between the partition and the peripheral wall of the drum. On the inside bottom of the door is an angle member 17, the inwardly projecting leg of which engages under a lip formed by a member 18 on the partition when the door swings to closed position. On the exterior of the door, a channel shaped member 19 further braces the door bottom portion, backing up the bottom edge of the door sheet where the latter contacts the drum. 20 indicates the housing of a latch, and 21 is the operating handle, the latch bolt engaging in a cut-out keeper in the partition 15 and brace angle 16.

The rubber strip 22 in pocket member 23 at the tub door edge is the sealing means for the bottom edge of the tub door and 24 (FIG. 4) is a vertical rubber side seal. On the inner face of the tub wall at the door threshold is a stiffener bar 25. The type of tub door does not, of course, have any bearing on the invention, and is merely shown as a specific embodiment. As to the drum door, if it were the sliding type instead of top hinged, the same problem of apron interference would exist, i.e., if the door had projections such as the legs or flanges on reinforcing member 19.

Part 12 is the apron proper. One edge is notched out and rolled into hinge form. Another plate 26 is provided with a mating hinge and they are joined by a hinge pin 27. The other edge of plate 26 is also rolled and carries a stub pin 28 at each end. These pins fit in elongated slotted sockets 29 which have mounting bracket feet 29a welded thereto, secured to tub part 23 by screws 30. Apron 12 has a number of lugs 31 in spaced alignment on one face. These could be any desired number, or even one long piece.

When not in use, the apron hangs as in FIGURE 1. When the tub door is opened and the drum 11 spotted into unloading position, the operator swings the hinged plates 12 and 26 up and around to about the position of FIGURE 2, and then down until lugs 31 have passed down through the narrow gap between the tub and drum portions, the angled brace portion 31a of the lugs preventing catching on the tub edge. The plates then move to the FIGURE 3 position, with pins 28 resting on the bottom of sockets 29, apron 12 resting on the edge of rubber seal bar 22, and lugs 31 abutting and retained by the reinforcing edge bar 25. This is the case when the door is in the position shown, or slightly higher, so that the. channel 19 is clear of the upper inner edge of the apron, If the door is slightly lower, the channel will be holding the apron tipped, and the pin 28 will be up somewhat above the bottom of the socket. When the drum door is then swung open, the plates will tend to move to the normal position shown in FIG. 3 due to the weight of plate 26. The latter, it might be noted, is just a part of the hinge structure and could be in some form other than a smooth plate.

What is claimed is:

1. In apparatus of the character described wherein an inner drum is rotatable on a horizontal axis within and spaced from an outer housing, and wherein alignable doors are provided, respectively, in said drum and said housing, apron means for bridging the gap between said tub and said housing when said doors are open and aligned, said apron means comprising a first apron part having a sliding hinge connection on the outer wall of said housing below and adjacent to said housing door, a second apron part having a hinged connection along the free edge of said first apron part and adapted to be swung inwardly across the aforesaid gap, the free edge of said second apron part extending adjacent to the lower edge of said drum door opening when both doors are in open, aligned position, and retaining means carried on said second apron part and adapted for retaining contact with the lower edge of said housing door opening whereby to hold said second apron part in gap-bridging position.

2. In apparatus of the character described wherein an inner drum is rotatable on a horizontal axis within and spaced from an outer housing, and wherein alignable doors are provided, respectively, in said drum and said housing, apron means for bridging the gap between said tub and said housing when said doors are openand aligned, said apron means comprising a sliding hinge connection to the outer Wall of said housing including a pair of binge brackets disposed below and adjacent to the lower edge of said housing door on the outer face of said housing, one said hinge bracket at each end of said lower edge, a generally vertical slot. in each bracket, a first apron part having two opposed projecting pins, one pin retained in each said slot whereby to provide a sliding hinge connection between said housing and said first apron part, a second apron part swingably hinged to said first apron part and adapted to be swung inwardly through said housing door opening to bridge the aforesaid gap, said second apron part including a retaining projection extending downwardly through said gap when said apron is in operative position and retainably abutting the lower edge portion of the housing door opening.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,141,235 De Hay June 1, 1915 2,585,565 Siernann May 18, 1926 1,815,732 Gross July 21, 1931 1,979,408 Power Nov. 6, 1934 

1. IN APPARATUS OF THE CHARACTER DESCRIBED WHEREIN AN INNER DRUM IS ROTATABLE ON A HORIZONTAL AXIS WITHIN AND SPACED FROM AN OUTER HOUSING, AND WHEREIN ALIGNABLE DOORS ARE PROVIDED, RESPECTIVELY, IN SAID DRUM AND SAID HOUSING, APRON MEANS FOR BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN SAID TUB AND SAID HOUSING WHEN SAID DOORS ARE OPEN AND ALIGNED, SAID APRON MEANS COMPRISING A FIRST APRON PART HAVING A SLIDING HINGE CONNECTION ON THE OUTER WALL OF SAID HOUSING BELOW AND ADJACENT TO SAID HOUSING DOOR, A SECOND APRON PART HAVING A HINGED CONNECTION ALONG THE FREE EDGE OF SAID FIRST APRON PART AND ADAPTED TO BE SWUNG INWARDLY ACROSS THE AFORESAID GAP, THE FREE EDGE OF SAID SECOND APRON PART EXTENDING ADJACENT TO THE LOWER EDGE OF SAID DRUM DOOR OPENING WHEN BOTH DOORS ARE IN OPEN, ALIGNED POSITION, AND RETAINING MEANS CARRIED ON SAID SECOND APRON PART AND ADAPTED FOR RETAINING CONTACT WITH THE LOWER EDGE OF SAID HOUSING DOOR OPENING WHEREBY TO HOLD SAID SECOND APRON PART IN GAP-BRIDGING POSITION. 